Hot and humid late this week and weekend

Ridging and a blocking surface high will keep the winds pumping in from the warm direction and usher in the hottest air of the season. With winds gusting out of the southwest, temperatures will climb into the 80s starting tomorrow. By Friday and Saturday, the numbers could possibly be flirting with 90 degrees for the first time this season. The warmest high so far in Milwaukee in 2018 is 84 degrees; we should easily go above that a few days this week and weekend.

Bringing in the heat from the south means the return of humidity. Dew points, the measure of moisture in the atmosphere, will rise into the muggy territory. If you track dew points, they will be in the 60s and even near 70.

With the dynamics in play, and being on the north fringes of the mid-level ridge, showers and thunderstorms will flare up by Friday night and early Saturday. Some of these storms could turn strong. The Storm Prediction Center already has most of Wisconsin under a *marginal* risk of strong to severe storms. High winds and heavy rain will be the main threats.